You'll Thank Me Later
by vixen6
Summary: Faye saves Spike's life and he's not exactly "appreciative" about it. Chapter 6 is up, sorry the update took forever.
1. Honor

Disclaimer-cowboy bebop is not mine yadda, yadda, yadda,  
  
  
  
  
  
Honor  
  
  
  
  
"Goddamn him.." hot tears streamed down my face and my body slid down the cold metallic wall sending a wave of goosepricks all over my body.  
  
The hallway still smelled of discharge from the shots I fired pathetically at the ceiling. I looked above me through my tear blurred vision and could make out a few dark blurbs in the ceiling. Jet wasn't going to be too happy about those..But I doubted he'd say anything to me for a while.   
  
I should've shot him.   
  
Why didn't I shoot him?   
  
Because he would hate me for it...  
  
Not that he didn't already hate me for alot of things.   
Hell, how many times did I screw up a bounty, or jump ship with all the loot?  
More then I can remember..  
  
But they always let me back on..and Spike looked out for me.   
  
  
When I was kidnapped by Vicious, he came for me. Although truthfully I think he came for Vicious, but he was nice enough to shoot the guy who was holding me in the head..That counts for something..right? Even if it was just another reason for him to try to get himself killed.   
  
"Suicidal lunkhead.." I pulled out my pack of cigs, actually it was his pack. I stole them from his room a few hours before he left. There were only two left.   
  
"One for each of us if you would've stayed Spike.."  
  
I couldn't believe I used to have a crush on him..he was so quick to go out and get himself killed.  
  
  
He wasn't a crush to me anymore though, I snapped out of that pretty fast as soon as I learned about Julia, and Spike became my brother and my commrade. Sometimes in the back of my head I was foolish enough to think he thought of me as family and a friend, but I guess I was wrong. He would rather go play cat and mouse with a sadistic beast then stick around with me and Jet.  
  
  
I lit up the ciggarette and stared at it's glowing tip for a while.  
  
  
I finally have a family and he's leaving. Just like that.   
  
  
I drew it to my lips and inhaled the smooth smoke letting the sweet poison fill my lungs.   
  
  
How can he be so selfish?   
  
  
Not like I should talk..What could I have said to him?  
  
"Gee Spike, just let bygones be bygones. Forget Vicious, I'm sure he's forgotten all about you betraying the syndicate and stealing his woman..anyway who cares if he hunts you down till the day you die? As long as we're all together."  
  
As if our life was the godammed Brady Bunch..   
  
  
I took one final drag of the cancer stick, dropped it to the floor, stood up and smashed it under my white boot.   
  
  
I thought of Jet, I should probably go talk to him. I wouldn't even try to convince him to go after Spike because I knew he wouldn't because of one thing.  
  
Honor.  
  
  
Men and their goddamed foolish code of honor.   
  
  
It's a good thing I'm a woman so I don't have to follow that idiotic code...  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
I just want to point out I believe Spike died in the series, and that it honestly was the best ending for the series, but I felt compelled to write a "Spike lives" fic..I know it's really overdone..I'm sorry :( 


	2. Silence

Silence  
  
  
  
If I was gonna save Spike's sorry ass, I would have to keep Jet distracted for a little while. I knew he would try to stop me, which is why I had to find out where he was and keep him there.  
  
"Jet?" my voice was still a little shaky from crying. I probably sounded like a little girl.   
  
There was no reply.  
  
I sighed and began my search throughout the ship every once in a while calling out his name.   
  
  
Didn't Jet hear the gunshots?   
  
Didn't he wonder if Spike and I had shot each other and were laying somewhere aboard the Bebop in a puddle of blood staining his precious floor?   
  
The thought of Spike laying in a puddle of blood tied a knot in my stomach. I was always so good of thinking of very bad things at very bad times.  
  
  
I stopped in the hallway and called for Jet again, but there was still no reply.  
  
"Where the hell is he?" I started frowning, I didn't have that much time.  
  
I started walking again, listening for any signs of life.  
  
I couldn't get over the silence. It was absolutely deafening.  
  
  
No food sizzling in the kitchen...  
  
  
No Spike, working away at his punching bag...  
  
  
No Ed being crazy, and no Ein yipping at Ed's heels...  
  
  
I walked passed the bathroom and noticed the "Occupied" light was on.  
  
So that's where he was hiding.   
  
I almost knocked on the door, but I wasn't sure what to say to him. It was kind of awkward...what if he was crying or something? That would be even worse. Jet always struck me as a closet cryer for some reason, and I couldn't deal with him being upset right now as selfish as that may sound.  
  
I toyed with the idea of jamming the bathroom door, but then I decided to take my chances and do what I had to do as quick as I possibly could.  
  
I ran into the lounge area and flicked on the computer. Then I looked up Bob, one of Jet's old friends from the force, and punched in his vid screen access code.  
  
After a few seconds, a man with tired looking eyes and a mustache filled the screen. I noticed that he had posters of naked woman all over the place.   
  
That was a good sign, he'd be a real pushover.  
  
  
"Hello, Bob." I flashed him the sexiest smile that I could muster under the situation.  
  
  
"Do I know you?..ah wait you're one of Jet's people." his voice was bland.  
  
  
"Yeah sure..I'm one of Jet's people" I used my sweet as sugar voice.  
"Can you do me a favor?" I batted my eyes at the pervy police officer.   
  
"Look, cupcake, I only do favors for cops or ex cops.." he went back to his magazine with the blond with huge boobs on the cover. Then he had the nerve to yawn.  
  
Cupcake? If I wasn't in such a rush..I really would've let this jackass have it..  
  
I narrowed my eyes at him.  
  
"Fine, but if you don't help me out, I'll just have to mention that little red eye deal that you've got going on the side to Jet."   
  
His eyes widened with shock then he looked away from the screen with a mixture of guilt and defeat washing over his entire face.  
  
  
"Fine..what do you want?" he scowled.  
  
I just took a wild guess about the red eye. Jet always had something on this guy.   
  
  
"I need an ambulance to be waiting outside of the Red Dragon's Syndicate headquarters, I need it there right now. There will hopefully..I mean probably be a man coming out of that building with alot of damage..possibly even large gashes. He's tall with green poofy hair.. I want you to make sure this man is well taken care of. "  
  
I wasn't really sure what would happen up there. I wasn't sure if Spike would make it. I wasn't even sure that Spike was going to the Red Dragon's headquarters, but it seemed the most logical guess.  
  
All I could do was send help for him and wait for the bad news.  
  
  
"And just how do you have this information?"  
  
  
"It's none of your concern." I was starting to lose my sweet disposition. This guy was wasting time.  
  
  
"Look lady, this sounds like a prank to me.."  
  
  
"Well It's not a fucking prank!" I could feel my face burn hot with anger.  
"Now if you don't want to lose your badge, then get your ass in gear, make some calls, and get that ambulance out there NOW!" I shot a deadly glare at the vid screen before flipping it off.  
  
I sat there staring at the blank screen and I thought of what Spike said to me just moments before he left. He told me that he wasn't going there to die, he was going to find out if he was alive. It was hard to believe the person that said something so deep like that to me was the same person that was known to swallow his own cigarettes and drink those god awful prairie oysters. I was getting lost in my thoughts when I felt someone behind me.  
  
  
"Ahem.." Jet cleared his throat. He was standing there like a dad, with his arms crossed and a dissaproving look in his eyes.  
  
"Jet.." I started to say something but he waved his artificial arm at me and cut me off.  
  
"I just want to know one thing Faye... Are you doing this for him or for yourself?"  
  
I wasn't sure anymore..actually I was never really sure in the first place..  
  
I stared up at him, looking for the right words to say, but I found quickly that the only answer I could give him was in the form of silence.   
  
It was one of the few times I didn't have a smartass answer for Jet. 


	3. Relief

Relief  
  
  
  
After a few nerve racking hours, Bob informed us that Spike was alive and had been taken to the Sacred Heart hospital on Mars but he was in very unstable condition.   
  
Spike, unstable? There was some definetely some bittersweet irony in that statement.   
  
Jet didn't seem too excited about going to see Spike but I was. It was a weird kind of excitement though, a nervous kind. A kind that made me feel like I was about to either laugh hysterically, throw up or maybe even both. I couldn't wait to land back on Mars though.  
  
  
  
------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
  
  
"This just doesn't seem right Faye, Spike being alive..." Jet was hobbling along the street on his injured leg with his eyebrows furrowed.  
  
I rolled my eyes at him.   
"The fact that the same man who survived getting thrown off of a building, and who has been shot about a billion times survived a confratation with one sick bastard doesn't seem right?"  
  
"No, it doesn't..if you hadn't sent for that ambulance, he never would have survived."  
  
"You don't know that."   
  
"Mmm Hmm." he hummed quietly to himself.  
  
"Mmm Hmm what, Jet? You can't make a statement like that until we talk to the doctor you know. I'll bet you five woolongs he would've survived without the ambulance." note to self- when you suggest gambling on your friends chances to live, you may have a gambling problem.  
  
"You're on, Faye" he chuckled softly "After you." I was surprised when Jet opened the opened the door for me. Not that Jet wasn't a gentleman, he just wasn't usually one to me.  
  
  
  
----------------------------------------  
  
  
  
"Your friend is lucky that ambulance showed up when it did, otherwise he never would have survived." the doctor said as he was leading us down the hallway to Spike's room.  
  
I looked over at Jet, he was smiling at me. Damn it, why does that guy always have to be right?  
I didn't even have five woolongs..Ah well, I'd just steal it from his "hidden" stash when we got back on the BeBop.  
  
  
As we entered the room, a wave of nerves hit me again. Between the bright flourescent lights, and the harsh smell of antiseptic chemicals, I felt as if I was going to pass out, then I looked over at the bed next to the window.  
  
  
There he was.  
  
  
Spike.  
  
  
Alive.  
  
  
  
I couldn't move, all I could do was stare at him.   
  
He was hooked up to all sorts of tubes and contraptions. Beeping and whirring machienes were breathing for him and  
helping his heart beat. For some silly reason, I thought he would look just as he did after a tough bounty on a ship. Wrapped up in bandages like a mummy, but he was going to need alot more then gauze and hydrogen peroxide to get over this. It took everything I had inside me to keep from crying. I loved the guy, even if he was hell bent on destroying himself. That's the way families work, even the dysfunctional ones..not that there's really any other kind.  
  
Doc started talking again.  
  
"He suffered alot of damage to his torso. We're in the process of seeing what we can do about fixing his organs, possibly even growing new ones from his old tissue. It all depends how he does these next few weeks."  
  
I walked towards the bed and Jet limped behind me and stopped to look out the window.  
  
"I'm due in surgery in about a half an hour, if you have any questions, feel free to ask the nurse." and with that the doctor was gone.  
  
  
"Geez Jet, he looks terrible.." Spike looked so fragile laying there. The sadistic part of me wanted to pinch him knowing he didn't have the strength to pinch me back, but I didn't want to wake him up, he looked peacful. He was probably dreaming of his star crossed lover..Julia..and now he could only be with her in his dreams.  
I wondered what Romeo would do now that Juliet's dead?   
Deep within my heart I was starting to regret what I had done.  
  
Jet didn't answer me.   
  
"I honestly didn't think he would look this bad..every other time before he didn't look this bad." his usuallly tan face was pale, bruised and swollen.  
  
"Well this isn't every other time before, Faye, this wasn't some two bit bounty head he fought, it was one of the most ruthless men on Mars backed up by the most ruthless syndicate in the galaxy." his gruff voice was starting to thicken with anger.  
  
"What the hell is wrong with you Jet?" I snapped at him.   
"Aren't you happy that he's alive?"   
  
Jet had his real arm leaning on the window ledge and his artificial one dangling at his side. His eyes were focused on something outside. He just didn't want to look at Spike.  
  
"Of course I am Faye, it's just..I don't think he's going to be to happy when he wakes up. I don't think you should have gotten involved..it was none of your business."  
  
"None of my business? What about all the times you came after me, Jet?" How was that any of your business?"   
I turned my back on Spike and started glaring at Jet.  
  
"It was my business because usually you stole my money, and my fuel!" he roared.  
  
"Keep your voice down!" I yelled. "You're gonna wake Spike up!"  
  
"Hey," a soft voice spoke behind my back. I looked around at him wide-eyed, hoping he didn't notice the slight smile forming on my face. "Could you two shut the hell up?" Spike's voice sounded weak but his usual tone of sarcasm was still there.   
  
Jet and I just stared at him for a few seconds, shocked that he was already awake, then things went back to normal.  
  
"Umm excuse me, but Jet and I were having a coversation here, before you so rudely interrupted us, Spike." I snapped back in my bitchiest tone.  
  
"Can it Faye, because if there's anything worse to wake up to then your off key singing, it's your off key yelling." he flashed me his stupid crooked smile.  
  
Without even thinking about it, I ran over to the empty bed and grabbed the pillow and drew it back ready to wollop his poofy green haired head with it.  
  
"Faye! Don't!" Jet grasped my arm back and held onto it until I dropped the pillow to the floor. I glared at Jet, then at Spike and stormed out of the room.  
  
Most of our future visits were like that, Like an endless Tom and Jerry marathon. Sometimes Spike would win, and sometimes I would, but Jet would always stop things before they got too out of hand.  
  
It was just like old times at the hospital, which was why I was so surprised a few weeks later when Spike came back to the Bebop at how much he changed. That was also when I started regretting what I had done. 


	4. For Whom the Bell Tolls

For Whom the Bell Tolls  
  
  
  
  
  
The day Spike came home Jet handed me a small gold bell.   
  
  
"What's this for?" I studied the small gold object with the black handle.   
  
  
"For Spike of course, he'll need it to call his nurse."   
  
  
"Spike's nurse..but who?"  
When I caught Jet smiling, I knew what he was thinking.  
  
  
"Oh no Jet, if you think I'm taking care of him..." I put the bell back into his large hand.  
  
  
"Look Faye, one of us has to take care of him, and one of us needs to hunt the bounties, and the way I see it, you took the responsibilities of this as soon as you made the call to save his life. Besides, the medical bills are becoming catostrophic, and unlike you, I don't run away from my debts."   
  
We stared each other down for a few moments, but I was to tired to argue with him so I just gave in. Besides, Jet would be out busting his ass all day and I would get to stay home. Secretly I was happy, but I wouldn't let Jet know that.  
  
"Fine." I growled as I snatched the bell back from him. "How hard could this be?"  
  
  
  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
  
  
  
The first few days, Spike spent most of the time sleeping. I would usually just lounge around reading my fashion magazines or watch tv waiting for him to ring the bell.  
  
  
*ding-ding*  
  
  
I sighed, threw down the magazine and went to his room.   
  
  
"Yes, Spike?" I crossed my arms.  
  
  
"I'm hungry, I'll have some Bacon and Eggs please."  
  
  
"Bacon and Eggs huh? Ok."  
  
  
That was simple enough.  
  
I ravaged through the fridge for the ingredients. We had 1 package of bacon and only had two eggs left and they were way past expiration..Maybe I shouldn't have made the eggs, but then again, he'd never know. That guy had a cast iron stomach.   
  
*ding-ding*  
*ding-ding*  
  
"Yeah, I'm coming Spike!"  
  
I whipped up the meal as best as I could, and I even fashioned the two eggs and strips of bacon into a smiley face. Then I remembered who I was making this for and I scrambled the food around the plate. I broke one of the eggs by accident, and the yellow yolk oozed all over the bacon.  
  
  
*ding-ding*  
*ding-ding*  
*ding-ding*  
*ding-ding*  
  
  
That bell was going to be a BIG problem.  
  
  
"Enjoy." I plopped the plate on the tray set up next to his bed.   
  
  
"Umm..Faye?"  
  
  
"What it is Spike?" I sighed.  
  
  
"I asked for Bacon and Eggs," his face was srunched up and he was cautiously inspecting the plate's contents as if I poisoned them.  
  
  
"And that's what I made for you."  
  
  
"No, you made me soggy meat strips and eggs that smell like they've been expired since you were a kid!"  
  
  
"Well that's all we can afford right now! So eat it or I will!"  
  
I would have too..I've even eaten Ein's food before. I slammed Spike's door and plopped back down on the ugly yellow couch.  
  
Jet really needed to redecorate this place.  
  
I switched on the tv to watch some cheesey daytime drama.   
  
Just as I was about to find out who fathered Wendee's baby..  
  
  
*ding-ding*  
*ding-ding*  
*ding-ding*  
  
  
  
  
"Yes, Spike?"  
  
"Here you go, it was awful." He grinned at me, there was some egg yolk stuck to the side of his face. He was such a pig.  
  
I yanked the plate from his hand and made my way to the kitchen where the plate would stay in the sink until Jet did the dishes.   
  
I was just about to plop onto the couch again when..  
  
*ding-ding*  
*ding-ding*  
*ding-ding*  
*ding-ding*  
*ding-ding*  
*ding-ding*  
*ding-ding*  
*ding-ding*  
*ding-ding*  
  
  
  
"Jesus H-Christ!" I stomped over to his room, slammed open his door, grabbed the bell out of his hand and ran to the bathroom.  
  
I dropped the bell into the toilet confident that it was small enough to be flushed. I wondered why the hell Jet had that little bell anyway.  
  
*whoosh..chuga-chuga*  
  
*chuga*  
  
  
  
*chuga*  
  
  
  
*chug..*  
  
  
................................  
  
  
*whooooooosh*  
  
  
"Shit!"  
The goddamn toilet overflowed. Now Jet was really going to be pissed. I could see it all now.  
  
  
////////////  
  
"What happened Faye?" Jet would be rubbing the back of his neck   
  
"I tried to flush Spike's bell down the toilet."  
  
Cut to scene where Jet is strangling Faye much like Homer strangles Bart on the Simpsons.  
  
//////////////  
  
  
  
Well there was nothing I could do to fix it so I shut the door and went back to Spike's room.  
  
  
I sat down next to him on his bed, I was still out of breath from running all around the ship and I needed a cigarette. I patted all over my body before I realized I had left them in my room.  
  
  
"What did you want anyway?"   
  
  
"Nothing.." he turned over to face the wall.  
  
It was so unlike him, but I didn't care, it was probably his medication.  
  
"Fine, just holler if you need something else." I blew the purple whisps of hair out of my eyes and headed towards the door.  
  
  
"I'm supposed to be dead, you know."  
  
  
I stopped dead in my tracks.  
  
  
"Yeah, me too Spike."  
  
  
I really needed a cigarette. 


	5. Swiss Cheese and Rice

Swiss Cheese and Rice  
  
  
  
For the past three years I had been living my life by one motto.   
  
"Never gamble with more then you are willing to lose."  
  
It's a great motto, and not just for when you're dealing with money. It works well with people too, don't get attached to people and you won't get hurt. After that whole thing with Whitney, I pretty much kept my gaurd up all the time, until they came along. These two stupid men with their stupid ship had grown on me, then there was the kid and the dog. They annoyed me to no end, but I couldn't help but feel right at home with them after a while. Maybe it was just because I annoyed them to no end in turn, I'll never be sure, but after Spike came home, things changed. Not drastically, but enough that I noticed, and it made me wonder if gambling with Spike's fate had been a bad decision.  
  
  
Maybe it's because that's when things really "Hit" him.  
  
....................  
  
  
"Hit him", it's such an obnoxiously misused term. I remembered when I woke up from my cryogenic sleep the realilty of what happened didn't "hit" me, it knocked me right the hell out.   
  
After what Spike had said to me about wanting to be dead, I didn't taunt him as much as I used to, and even when I tried, he'd rarely taunt me back.   
  
It just wasn't fun anymore...  
  
Spike just wasn't Spike anymore...  
  
  
  
-------------------------------  
  
  
Lots of times I would catch him just staring out into space. He didn't eat alot, and he rarely spoke. I was begining to wonder if this weird guy was even really Spike at all.   
  
One time when I was coming back from the shower, I caught him sitting at the foot of his bed staring at his gun.   
  
His door was open about an inch or so and I hid behind it to watch him.  
  
He was probably thinking about suicide, but I doubted he'd go through with it. I mean, really, who hasn't cotemplated killing themselves at least once in their lives? Although in Spike's mind, he was supposed to be dead. The Grim Reaper had Spike by the hand but he was yanked back into the painful world of the living by a crazy purple haired bitch. Not that he knew it was me that sent the ambulence, but knowing Spike, he probably had his suspitions.   
  
  
I stepped away from the crack at his door, held my breath and was about to knock on it.   
  
  
"Well, aren't you going to barge into my room like you always do?" he always knew when I was there. I felt like I just got caught with my hand in the cookie jar.  
  
  
"I was going to knock." I snapped at him.  
  
  
"Knocking's not your style Faye,"   
"You know that." he flashed me a cold smile then put all his attention back on his gun.  
  
  
  
"Well I guess it isn't but I.." his smile made me uneasy.  
  
  
"It was you, wasn't it Faye?"  
  
  
"What was me?" Although I knew damn well what he was talking about, and I knew I couldn't hide the guilt on my face.  
  
  
He gave me his "You know exactly what the hell I'm talking about" face and then put all his attention on back on his gun again.  
  
  
"Everybody from my past is dead Faye..do you have any idea how lonely that feels?"   
  
  
Of course I do you asshole! I screamed inside my head. My real answer was less abrassive.  
"Of course I do, Spike."  
  
  
"Then why did you do this to me?" his voice wasn't angry and it wasn't sad, it had an odd tone to it.  
  
*Why did you do this to me?*   
The words echoed in my head..i still didn't have an answer..and I blurted out the first thing I could think of.  
  
"Because everybody from your future is still alive." God, that sounded so selfish..  
  
  
Spike looked up at me with his calm brown eyes and he coughed out a bitter laugh.  
"You really are a selfish bitch, Faye." his voice..it sounded just like Vicious' voice, empty and cold.  
  
  
"Yeah, and you really are a gutless pussy, Spike. Why don't you do us all a favor and pull the trigger already?"  
  
Tears were staring to burn the corners of me eyes and I could feel a lump of only God knows what kind of emotions lodged in my throat. I turned to leave his room, like hell if I would let him see me cry over this. I saved his life, and even if he wasn't happy about it, the least he could be was thankful.  
  
I heard one shot fire out behind me and a bullet zoomed over my head and lodged itself into the wall in the hallway.   
  
"What the hell was the for?" I swung around at him with my fists balled ready to beat the crap out of him. Not like I would really be able to, but I felt confident I could get in a few cheap shots before he started in with his crazy kung-fu or whatever the hell it was that he practiced.   
  
"Well you said do us all a favor." his normal crooked smile came back.   
"Looks like my aim's still off a little."   
  
  
"You really are an asshole, Spike." I glared at him.  
  
  
He opened his mouth to say something else when Jet started yelling from down the hallway.  
  
  
"Goddammit!" he barked.  
  
He raged into Spikes room and started yelling at us.   
  
"If you two don't stop shooting up my ship, I'm throwing both your asses out. You can kill each other for all I care, but leave the Bebop out of it!"  
  
It was so hard not to laugh at him because he was wearing his silly apron and shaking his spatula at us causing small grains of rice to fly all over us.  
  
  
"I'm serious this time...blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah  
  
Faye...blah, blah, blah,   
  
Spike..blah, blah, blah,   
  
and I mean it you two!"  
  
"And clean this mess up, Faye!"  
  
Jet shook his Spatula at us one more time, showering my freshly washed hair with sticky white rice. He stopped to examine the fresh wound in the ship's wall and mumbled something about swiss cheese.   
  
I looked back at Spike. He had put the gun down and was blankly staring up at me. There was rice in his hair too, it looked like maggots. Between that, his lack of color and the huge black bags under his eyes, Spike almost looked like he really was dead.   
  
"What's your problem?"  
  
  
"You're my problem."  
  
  
Spike was picking the rice out of his hair and flicking it at me.   
  
  
"You're lucky you're a cripple Spike, otherwise I'd kick your ass."  
  
  
"The only way I'm crippled is emotionally because I have to put up with you all the time, Faye."  
  
I attempted to make a cold exit out of the room, but that idea went out the window when I slipped on some rice on the floor and banged my ass on the ground, hard.   
  
"Ouch!" I yelped.  
  
"Jet told you to clean that up Faye," he mused.  
  
I got up and rubbed my bruised bottom.  
  
"Shut-Up, Spike."  
  
I looked at the floor and sighed, there was so much rice and I didn't feel like doing anymore work today, but I also didn't feel like falling on my ass again either.  
  
Where was Ein when you needed him? 


	6. The Night Things Went Too Far

The Night Things Went Too Far  
  
  
  
  
After the "swiss cheese incident", I figured things would get better between the three of us, but I was wrong, very wrong. Things only got worse.   
  
Spike and I fought constantly, like a couple of two year olds. Jet finally gave up and kept out of our arguements, I guess he finally realized that his butting in was just wasted time anyway. Maybe it was better we just fight and get it out of our systems, most of our fights were verbal attacks on one another anyway, it's not as if things ever got physical between us...  
  
Except for that one time...  
  
Spike didn't hit me, kick me, slap me, punch me, or anything like that. The guy may have been somewhat of a caveman at times, but like Jet, he followed one of the most cardinal rules of man - Never Hit a Woman. Of course, I used this to my advantage as much as I could around those two. I can't even think of how many times I wouldv'e gotten my ass kicked had I been born with that cursed Y gene, but there are times when even being a woman doesn't exclude you from from being reprimanded, you can't charm your way out of everything.  
  
I learned this lesson pretty quickly one fateful night, and so did Spike, we learned this lesson on a night when things went too far between us.  
  
I won't lie to you, what Spike and I ended up doing by accident felt good at the time, really good. I guess with everything that had been built up between us two, it had been a long time coming. It really was the best release for the both of us, but looking back on it, we never should have done it, we didn't even think of how what we did would affect anybody else. Jet was the furthest thing from our minds at the time, we were just living in the moment...but Jet wouldn't see things that way...  
  
  
  
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Almost a year had passed since Spike came back to the Bebop, and it was a boring night like any other. There really weren't any bounties worth hunting, and our last one had been a big payoff, so we were vacationing for a while. If I could have found out Jet's new hiding place for the money I would have been living it up at a casino somewhere, but Jet wised up, and found a new place to hide it.   
  
I was sitting on the chair in the lounge watching Spike half asleep on the couch, I studied his hair and wondered if that was the new hiding place for the woolongs...That big fluffy fro of his...I think he's the only white guy in the history of white guys to look good in an afro.  
  
Did I say look good? No, I can't think of Spike like that again..Too much hurt there and I'd rather not go through it again...still, I can't deny that he's incredibly sexy. Would any girl in their right mind say he's ugly?   
  
  
"..the hell are you looking at?" his upside down face staring up at me with semi-annoyed look in his eyes.  
  
  
"Not much," I turned my attention to my nails like I often do when somebody catches me looking at them.  
  
  
He let out a yawn and a stretch and went back to oogling his beloved television. Sitting here watching Spike act sleepy was making me sleepy. How could he sleep so much anyway? He was like a damn cat.  
  
I was bored and hungry so when my stomach started growling, I took that as a sign to stalk into the kitchen and see what Chef Le Black was preparing for dinner this fine evening.  
  
  
  
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"Fish?" I scrunched my face up in disgust. "We're having fish?"  
  
  
"Yes, we're having fish, it's very good for you, high in proteins." he said very matter of factly.  
  
  
"I hate fish, Jeeeet." I whined.  
  
  
"So go out and buy something else" he payed me very little attention, his eyes were focused on the fish he was gutting.  
  
  
"Well I would if you'd give me my half of that last bounty, if you'd just keep the money in the safe like it's supposed to be then.."  
  
  
"You would take all of the money and go blow it all at a casino." he smirked in amusement, but kept his eyes on the fish he was now dipping in flour.   
"You've been here over two years Faye, I know how you work."  
  
That was strange..he was being nice to me when I was whiny...usually he says, "Can it Faye, You're being obnoxious!" or something like that..it all sounds the same after a while.  
I was kind of dissapointed that he didn't feel like arguing with me, I was really bored.   
  
I sighed and went back to the lounge to stare a lunkhead number 1. He was snoring, there was a fishing show on tv, no wonder he fell asleep. When we weren't out hunting bounties, Jet and Spike acted like such old men most of the time, we rarely went out and did anything fun in our free time. Why the hell did they think I stole the money in the first place? They never wanted to go out anywhere, so I had to show myself a good time.   
  
"A good time," I furrowed my eyebrows "as if." I leaned over to snatch the remote control from the table. A lighting fast hand came from out of nowhere and grasped my own hand. I shreiked in surpise.   
  
"I was watching that" a quiet voice came from my side.  
  
"You were sleeping," I tried to pull my hand away but his grip tightened. He was still laying on the couch, his eyes were closed.  
"Let me go Spike." Surprisingly he did as he was told. I took the remote and walked back over to the chair. Before I knew it he had snatched it out of my hand and made his way out of the living room. I was not in the mood for hide and seek, and I was begining to wonder why the hell Spike was acting like Ed. Maybe he sustained some brain damage that went undetected or the doctors chose not to tell us about?  
  
I flung myself dramatically onto the hard yellow couch and stared at the ceiling fan. After a few moments my boredness got the best of me and I decided to search the ship for him. Starting in the most obvious places, his room, the kitchen, the bathroom, then I checked the couch again since those were the only places I usually saw him. I checked the ship bay, the storage room, Jet's room, Ed's old room, everywhere.   
  
  
Being in Ed's room made me surprisingly sad. Even though she rarely stayed in there, she "decorated" it in her own special way. In other words, it was tagged up worse then a new york city subway train. Her smilies were everywhere, but there were other drawings too. Typical kid stuff, trees, the sun, birds, like I said, kid stuff, but as my eyes trailed along the walls, I realized that she drew all of us. Ed drew herself in the middle of the picture. She had a big demonic grin and was squeezing Ein so hard it looked like his eyes were going to pop out. On either side of her stood Spike and I, we both had ciggarettes in our hands and were looking in opposite directions of each other. Jet was drawn off to the side working on his Bonsai Trees, there was something written under Jet..I squinted my eyes to read it, it said "Papa" I wonder if Jet had noticed that yet.  
  
I guess she drew us doing what she saw us doing the most, Spike and I smoking and Jet working on his Bonsai trees.   
  
The Bonsai Room! I hadn't checked there yet, Spike probably thought I wouldn't go there because Jet has told me countless times to stay out. Just goes to show how well Spike really knows me.  
  
  
"Thanks Ed, " I said quietly, then I closed her door and snuck down the hall.   
  
Through instinct, I reached for my gun, and backed up against the chilly wall on the way to the Bonsai Room. I quickly crept into the room, flipped on the switch, and found Spike sitting on the stool, surrounded by Jet's precious "babies".   
  
  
"Yo," he saluted me with the remote control. What an ass.  
  
  
"Give it back, Spike" I kept my gun pointed square at his head and glared at him, not an ounce of humor in my voice.   
  
  
"Or you're gonna shoot me?" a cocky smile played on his lips.  
  
  
"Yes, now give it back!" I narrowed my eyes.   
  
  
"Sure" he tossed the control at me it landed on the floor with a plasticy smack. He wasn't going to get me to give up my gun that easily. I cautiously bent down to retreive the remote, and before I knew it Spike had grabbed my gun and my arm and pinned me up against the stool which had smacked against the counter with my weight. He dropped my gun to the floor kicked it out into the hallway and pinned my arms against the countertop.  
  
"Let go of me!" I struggled to get away from him even though I knew it was probably useless. He was too strong for me as usual.   
  
He studied my face silently, and intently, as if he was searching for something. Looking into his eyes had always made me uncomfortable, especially since I knew one of them was fake. As superficial as that may sound, it sort of freaked me out, but I was also uncomfortable because of the way they made me feel. His eyes were rooting up feelings that I buried deep down inside, feelings that until that very moment I thought they were gone, and feelings that I did not believe Spike would ever return to me. I stopped struggling and looked away, what was the use? I didn't like to let anyone, let alone Jet and Spike see that weak side of me, but I was starting to feel sick. He let go of my arms, by my body was still pinned in an awkward situation. I studied his stupid green hair that would only ever look good on him, then my eyes shifted to his playful brown eyes, and finally my eyes shifted down to his annoying, goofy, cocky, yet incredibly sexy smile.  
  
"I win." he said playfully, still gazing into my eyes, watching the emotion change in them, and that's when it happened....  
  
  
  
....the thing that never should have happened....  
  
  
  
Without even thinking about it, I picked up a potted Bonsai tree from behind me and whipped it right at his obnoxious head. He ducked out of the way sending the poor tree crashing into the hallway. He laughed and started bobbing and weaving like a boxer ducking punches with each and every tree I hurled at him. Every single time I missed I became more and more pissed off, I would've given anything to wipe that stupid grin off of his face, but I missed, every single one of the trees was on the floor, none of them hit their target. I went after him with my fists, but just like before he caught my hands right away.   
  
  
"All this for a stupid remote, Faye?"  
  
I opened my mouth to say something but shut it up quickly when I saw Jet standing in the doorway surveying the damage in the hallway. Spike followed my eyes and we both watched Jet as he bent down and gingerly picked up a piece of what was left of one of his precious trees. Without even looking at us, and in a tone I had never ever heard Jet use before he said,  
  
"I want both of you off my ship." then he just walked away.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
I'm sorry that this update took forever, I had such writer's block on this story, but I think I've got the whole thing worked out, so hopefully this fic will be done within the next few weeks. I'm not making any promises though. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, it may have annoyed some of you FayeXSpike people, but the idea just hit me today so I had to run with it ^_^ 


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